Three new mobile suits for Gundam Senki 0081 are scheduled for release on the Japanese PlayStation Store on October 29th. These are the RX-81ST (with assault cannon), the AGX-04 Gerbera Tetra and the RMS-099 Rick Dias. The last two are noteworthy as they occur later in the Universal Century timeline, which could cause some interesting balancing issues as the there is quite a large disparity in terms of technology when it comes to units like the Rick Dias, which is from Zeta Gundam.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent a kit from Armored Core 4 and For Answer to review. Specifically, Kotobukiya’s 1/72 scale Noblesse Oblige. This is an important design, as it was originally used to promote the original Armored Core 4 before its release (specifically in two trailers here and here). It also heralded the shift in mecha design towards the very talented Yuzo Kojima.

Our review only covers the kit in its out of the box and unpainted form (however, we have also included painted photos towards the end). In addition, to give the kit some context, we’ve also captured some HD gameplay footage of the design in action from Armored Core For Answer.

For those that have yet to play and finish the wonderful Armored Core For Answer, here is a video from one of the various end game missions where you face multiple Nexts at once. The mission in particular is called the Occupation of Arteria Carpals and I’m playing it on the Hard difficulty on the first Regulation. It’s generally regarded as one of the most challenging missions in the game and as a consequence forces the player to utilise all manner of functional nuances at their disposal. This video has also been encoded in HD. Enjoy!

The upcoming Lost Planet 2 may have some kits released alongside with it by Kotobukiya. Now, these prototypes were only shown recently at the 49th All Japan Plamodel Hobby Show, with no word of release date or pricing. However considering Kotobukiya’s strong track record of producing kits for gaming series such as Armored Core, Virtual On and now Border Break, it’s hopefully safe to assume that Lost Planet 2’s Vital Suits will be recreated in a similarly well crafted manner.

Whilst we already posted a piece on someone else’s hands on impressions, a Mecha Damashii reader felt compelled to send us theirs from the Tokyo Game Show floor regarding the PlayStation 3 version. From the gameplay videos that have been going the rounds, the following report sounds pretty consistent. Considering the submission deadlines with console releases such as these, it’s doubtful that we’ll see many changes between now and the projected release date. So read on to hear the damage first hand (staunch Front Mission fans may need a stiff drink ready).

The rumoured releases of the GP-01 and GP-02 from Gundam 0083 as DLC additions have come true, as Game Watch has a breakdown of the upcoming DLC for Gundam Senki 0081 (which we’ve reviewed in case you’re wondering). It’s interesting to see how these mecha from later in the UC timeline will integrate with units that pre-date them. That said, the inclusion of the RX-178 Gundam Mk. II and the RMS-099 Rick Dias from Zeta Gundam could be a mobile suit too far in terms of the balancing. Each unit will cost between 300 to 500 yen and can only be used in the Free Play mode. Releases are penned for October and November via the Japanese PSN store.

Over on the Little Big Planet Central forums a poster by the name of “donkey show” is on the way to making a Gundam themed level, along with an Exia-esque mecha. Separately, he’s also done some nice customised Gundam Sackboys, seen above. The video below shows the level in action and it’s pretty impressive.

The Tokyo Game Show brings us another set of hands-on impressions, from Kotaku this time.

There’s not too much in the way of new information, and Kotaku’s impressions take a turn for the negative near the end, but I’d guess some of their complaints could stem from either the playable demo being made easy so as to be more ‘accessible’, or them simply not having enough time to get acquainted with the movement and attack options.

It’s nice to see the wanzers’ rollers making an appearance to speed up the combat and give the player more tactical options. That, along with the previously mentioned on-foot combat will definitely invite comparisons to certain other games, and it looks like the Front Mission Evolved team has their work cut out for them.

Joystiq has some hands-on impressions of Thexder Neo from the Tokyo Game Show. As someone who missed out on playing the original Thexder, reading how the new one plays has gotten me a lot more excited about it. Sounds like the transformation ability is being used as more than just a gimmick but instead as an integral part of gameplay.

Famitsu recently posted an interesting piece of coverage for Front Mission Evolved, most probably to tie-in with its presence at the Tokyo Game Show. Despite the fact that the in-game screenshots look better than expected, the refreshing thing to see is that you can also get out of your wanzer and take on enemies as a mere human. This is something that was recently utilised in the fantastic Yuke’s developed VOTOMS game (which we’ve reviewed in case you’re curious) and naturally there are a large number of thematic links between the narratives, especially as to the scale and technical depiction of the mecha themselves.

That said, the video below doesn’t exactly bode well on how it might actually play…